I've Got Your Number
by degrassian98
Summary: Zig and Tiny have a bet to get the hot waitress named Zoe's number, but what happens when the one who ends up catching Zoe's eye is Grace? / AU Gracevas.
1. Collide (Ch1)

"I'll pay for the entire meal if you can get her number." Zig said, shoving salty fries in his mouth.

Grace rolled her eyes. Sometimes she wondered why she spent time with these losers. Zig and Tiny were her best friends. They had been her best friends for over a year now. They'd met in detention, and since then, they'd all become partners in crime. Petty crime, at most, but Grace liked to act more badass than she was.

"That'll be a first. You paying for anything, I mean." Grace spoke up, nabbing a fry from Zig's plate.

"Oh, really? You wanna talk about a first? I don't see you paying for anything." Zig responded, smacking Grace's hand away from his plate of fries.

"You don't see me ordering anything either." Grace reached over and grabbed another fry, strategically avoiding Zig's swatting hand. She never ordered any food, it was true. The most she did was sneak a few fries or onion rings from her friends' plates. It wasn't like she was that annoying girl who liked to pretend she didn't eat or anything. She just couldn't quite afford to throw money around. Things were tight at home. She wasn't exactly getting an allowance or anything, and because of her CF, she couldn't work any strenuous or stuffy jobs which ruled out pretty much anything a seventeen year old girl with nothing on her resume could do.

Tiny laughed absentmindedly at the exchange. It was clear he was half-listening. His focus was mostly on the hot waitress.

Zig and Tiny had dragged Grace to this little diner every single day to stalk the new waitress. Grace understood why they were obsessed, even if their methods were a little too creepy-guy-in-a-rom-com for her tastes.

The waitress, Zoe, was a cute girl. Shoulder length brown hair and big brown doe eyes. She wore this tight dress and apron - that yes, was the uniform of the diner, but she wore it better than the rest of the course Zig and Tiny only noticed the way the uniform hugged her hips. Typical teenage guys.

Grace wasn't into her or anything, but she could still recognize beauty when she saw it. And Zoe was beautiful.

Female beauty always seemed way more intense to Grace. She couldn't explain it. It seemed like guys' personalities had to shine to reel people in, while girls were just...easier to pay attention to. For example, Grace had a crush on Zig. It took months of knowing him before the crush appeared. Meanwhile, Zig hadn't spoken to Zoe outside of her asking him for his order and him forcing her into some form of awkward attempt at flirtation, but he was enamored with Zoe.

She glanced over to Zig, but only found an immature teenage boy with fry grease all over his cheeks. She was into this guy, right? She furrowed her brows, wondering what she saw in the messy boy. She knew it was in there...somewhere.

"You two have been making that bet every day for two weeks, but when the check comes and you still haven't popped the question, you flip out and decide to split it instead. It's weak. Give it up. You're never gonna ask for her digits. You're gonna keep stalking her until she tells the manager and you start getting seated with Mimi again." Grace gestured over to Mimi, another waitress at the diner. About twenty years and two thousand packs of cigarettes separated the two waitresses.

Zig scoffed. "You act like it's so easy to just ask someone out. I've never seen _you_ on a date."

That stung. "Screw you, Novak." Grace replied, getting up from the table and heading to the bathroom. She seriously wondered what she saw in Zig sometimes. He was a jerk. And he constantly hit on other girls in front of her. Not that he'd know better, it's not like Grace was making any grand gestures to let Zig know she was sniffing around. Not like he'd want her. He liked cheerleader types and hot blondes, not tech geek girls with a death sentence.

Grace headed to the bathroom in a huff, barely paying attention to what was in front of her. The only thing that stood between her and sulking in the bathroom was the person she crashed into. A waitress. Before Grace could pump the brakes, she'd ran straight into someone and knocked the food she was delivering onto the floor.

"Fuck." Grace said, looking at the scrambled eggs that were now spread across the floor. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going. I can pay for the ruined food." She found herself offering, even though she knew she probably couldn't. Then she looked up and found herself lost in doe eyes. Zoe.

"That's okay. It happens." Zoe extended a hand to Grace.

Grace was speechless. Why the hell was she speechless?

"I'm sorry about that." Zoe spoke, gesturing to something. Grace looked down and her black tee shirt was covered in ketchup. Who eats eggs with ketchup? "I can help you clean that up if you want. I've perfected the art of getting food stains out of clothes. After all, I spilled food like it was my job for the first few days that I waitressed. You don't come out of that without learning a few stain hacks.

Grace nodded speechlessly. She looked around the diner. All of the patrons had already moved on from the commotion of the spill. Everyone but Zig and Tiny, who were watching in awe, gesturing for Grace to get Zoe's number for them. Of course. Pigs.

"I'd like that." Grace allowed herself to give Zoe a smile. Zoe deserved way better than Zig or Tiny.


	2. Little Talks (Ch2)

"So, originally I wanted to be an actress." Zoe spoke as she ran a paper towel under the sink. Of course Zoe was the type to reveal everything about herself without being asked. Usually Grace hated that sort of thing, but she didn't mind Zoe becoming more than an abstract concept. "But after I bombed my audition for my big break, West Drive, I quit acting. I had to."

Zoe's fingers pulled on the edges of Grace's stained shirt, and she brought the damp paper towel to the ketchup stains to begin her stain-removing process.

"Why'd you have to quit? Couldn't you have just kept, like, auditioning for stuff?" Grace couldn't explain why she was actually interested in this. Failed child actress. Boo hoo. Maybe it was Zoe's eyes, or maybe it was the fact that she was going to have to dish to Zig and Tiny later about what happened when the two girls were alone, but she was actually listening to the other girl.

"I wish. But my dad left, and my mom was relying on me to provide for us, so... I had to get a job that could pay the bills. And that's this, for now. Not to mention..." Zoe paused, seeming like she was trying to decide to reveal something. And she decided not to. Must be serious. "Never mind. I just had to drop acting. It's okay, though. I like working at the diner too."

Zoe reminded Grace of her own mother, in a non-Oedipal kind of way. Grace's mom did everything to provide for Grace and get every treatment, every medication, everything and anything for Grace's CF. Grace couldn't imagine experiencing that sort of pressure at only 17 years old. She had a newfound respect for the girl who, up to this point, was just a cute waitress her piggish friends drooled over.

"Your mom doesn't work?" Grace asked.

"No." Zoe responded. Grace detected slight disdain in her voice. "She used to do some small acting jobs, which is what got me into the biz. Her _current_ job, however, is looking for a rich husband. Since I proved to be unreliable in providing for her and funding the lifestyle she wants."

Grace found herself feeling invested in this. What kind of mom was Zoe's mom? She re-examined her own familial situation and felt lucky. Sure, it was just her and her mom, and they barely made it by financially because of Grace's illness, but at least her mom didn't treat her like an ATM or something.

Zoe pulled some sort of stain removing stick from her back pocket and began applying it to Grace's shirt, and before Grace's eyes, the ketchup stains were disappearing. Apparently the girl really was a stain-removing expert. Zoe reached for a dry paper towel to dab Grace's chest. Grace noticed the pressure that Zoe's fingers left on her chest and felt her heart rate increase. She was lucky that there was no stain located near her heart, or else... she didn't even know. She didn't know why her heart was racing over a girl touching her, but she didn't have time to think about it now. The stains on her shirt had disappeared, and Zoe was throwing the paper towels in the trash.

"I gotta get back to work. I'm still on the clock, and if I stay in here much longer, I'm gonna get a dock on my pay. And I probably have tables waiting..." Zoe remarked, and Grace just nodded, still distracted by her racing heart. "What's your name again?" Zoe questioned, and Grace realized she wasn't sure if she ever introduced herself.

"I'm Grace. Grace Cardinal." Grace sputtered out, grabbing another paper towel to finish drying up the wet spots on her shirt.

"Nice to meet you, Grace Cardinal. I'm Zoe Rivas."


	3. Love, Zoe Rivas (Ch3)

"So, did you get it?" Zig asked excitedly as soon as Grace arrived back at the table. His words were intercut with him licking his finger to dip it into the leftover ketchup on his plate, which caused Grace to find herself beginning to question her crush on him once again. Sure, he looked good while doing it, but if she really were to examine his actions... Why was she into him again?

"Did I get what?" Grace responded, sitting back at her spot at the table. She was completely oblivious, and a little bit lost in her own world. Usually, her head was screwed on so straight, so the clouds in her brain were throwing her off.

Zig rolled his eyes as if whatever he was asking was the most obvious thing in the world. "Did you get her number for me?" He asked, and he and Tiny leaned in as closely as they could, as if Grace was about to tell them a big secret.

Grace suddenly found herself filled with rage. Zig's tone was appalling enough as it is, acting entitled as hell to just get a girl's number handed to him just because he wants it, but after her conversation with Zoe in the bathroom, she knew that neither of these guys deserved Zoe, and it killed her that they really thought they deserved a chance.

"That was just a big ruse for you to get her number for me so I'd win the bet, right? That collision was insane. Really looked real. You should go into stunt work." Tiny remarked. Boys were so dumb. Especially these boys. Whenever one shocked her, the other upped the stakes.

"No, it wasn't, actually. I was walking away from Zig, who was being an ass," She looked over to Zig, who looked nothing but confused. "And I just so happened to crash into _Zoe,_ which is her name, by the way. No hot waitress, or babe, or anything else you two have been calling her." Grace spat back. "And when I was in the bathroom with her I got to know her a little, and she deserves way better than you jerks."

Grace was so ready to storm out on her so-called friends, but when she saw Zoe coming over to the table holding the check, her curiosity took over, and she couldn't will herself to leave just yet. Just a few more minutes and she could storm off and get her apology from Zig and Tiny via text later that night.

"Here you go, guys." Zoe spoke, placing the check on the table and glancing at Grace, then at the two boys at the table. Zoe flashed the boys a grin, and wow, was Zoe a good actress. Tiny and Zig did nothing to deserve that caliber of smile. Nothing at all.

Zoe then reached into her pocket and grabbed a folded up napkin and handed it to Grace. "I wrote down the stain removing stuff for you, so you know what to do next time you collide into someone." She winked, and walked away, leaving all three teens dumbfounded. There was something in Grace's tone that told her the contents of the scribbled-on napkin weren't instructions on how to remove ketchup stains form tee shirts.

"Open it." Zig said.

So Grace did. Shielding it from Zig and Tiny's prying eyes, she opened it. And it wasn't a stain removing product written on the slightly crumpled napkin.

" **Text me, Grace Cardinal.** " It said, followed by seven numbers. " **Love, Zoe Rivas.** " Zoe had signed her autograph, which was an almost illegible scribble with a heart and a little star at the end. Grace imagined it on a headshot of Zoe and couldn't help but smile. The circumstances Zoe was stuck in were unfortunate. She'd fare much better as an actress than a diner waitress.

"What is it?" Zig reached across the table to try to grab the wrinkled napkin, but Grace protected it, crumbling it in her hand and shoving it down her shirt. "It's what she said it is." Grace lied. Zig raised his brows, unconvinced, but Grace didn't really care. She looked across the diner at Zoe, who was looking over at the table. Quickly, Zoe held her hand up to her ear, mocking the gestures that Zig and Tiny had first made when Grace and Zoe had collided. She'd seen them. Great.

Grace reached into her pocket and grabbed the few dollars that she carried around at all times and dropped them on the table. "I got the tip." She said, before turning away from the boys and leaving.


	4. Coughing Fit (Ch4)

"Just confirming I got your number." Grace read back the text she'd sent to the number Zoe had written down. It had been about an hour and no reply. She tried not to get too apprehensive or anxious about it. It's not like it mattered. It's not like Zoe was some missing piece of her life's puzzle or they were destined to be best friends until the end of time or anything. It was just a number. Just a text.

"Who's number did you get?" Grace's mom appeared in the doorway of her bedroom out of nowhere. Her mom wasn't the prying type, nor was she sneaky, so Grace wasn't annoyed. "It's time for your medication." Grace's mom spoke up a few seconds later, recognizing that Grace wasn't going to spill the beans. She should know by now that Grace wasn't like that.

The two walked to the kitchen and Grace felt herself open up. Something she never really did. "I was at the diner with Zig and Tiny, and they were hitting on this waitress. The waitress ended up being cool, and she gave me her number. It's no big thing."

Grace's mom's eyes lit up. "I think the fact that you're excited about someone other than Zig or Tiny is a big step. You know how I feel about your lack of socializing. This is important."

Grace couldn't lie. If she put things in perspective, her being so interested in hanging out with and talking to Zoe was a big step. In middle school, she was pretty social. Then she kept getting sicker and sicker, and started pushing people away. People stopped visiting her in the hospital, and she stopped letting them in. She only ended up hanging out with Tiny and Zig because the three of them were put into groups in the rubber room a few too many times. It was like Ms. Grell saw something in the three of them or something.

"I guess you're right." Grace popped her medication into her mouth and took a swig of a glass of water that her mother had poured. "Thanks mom."

Her mom just nodded as Grace left the kitchen, and right before Grace got out of earshot she added onto her sentiment. "Text her again. I don't want you to give up on something that could be good for you."

Grace pulled her phone out and checked the time stamps. It was five thirty now. She'd texted Zoe around three. She'd always seen stuff online about how double texting people was lame. But who cares if it's lame? Following social rules wasn't for Grace. She was a rule breaker. So why the hell should she care? She drafted another text. "It's Grace, by the way. Don't know if you give out your number a lot and don't keep track." She backspaced. Don't imply that she just throws her number everywhere. "It's Grace, by the way!" She sent, with an emoji with a tongue sticking out. She hated emojis, but emojis seemed like something Zoe would like. Mid-daydream about Zoe and emojis, she felt her phone buzz. That was quick.

A text. From Zig. Not Zoe. "Sorry 4 being an ass.." He wrote. Yeah, you should be sorry, Grace thought. "Ok." Grace replied. They always fought, and Zig always texted a few hours later to apologize. It was one of the things about Zig she admittedly liked. He was a jerk, but he had a heart of gold.

Her phone buzzed again. Still Zigmund. "Wanna hang?" He wrote. "Ok." Grace replied, once again. She knew what that meant. She knew it meant Zig was already close to her house and would probably be knocking on the french doors in her room before she knew it. So she peeled off the sweatshirt she had put on, and switched it for a tighter, more flattering v-neck.

She felt a coughing fit coming on as she pulled the shirt over her head. This always seemed to happen when she took her medication late. She paused putting the shirt on and stood there coughing for a minute or so. Suddenly, her mom appeared by her side. "Hey. Sit down." Her mom said, rubbing Grace's bare back. Grace nodded, sitting down on her bed and putting her head between her legs, her throat still threatening another coughing fit. Her mom left the room, and Grace sighed. She grabbed her phone to send Zig a cancellation text, but before she got a chance, she looked up and noticed that Zig had arrived, and was standing in front of the glass door observing her, shirtless, coughing up a lung. Shit.

She shooed him, and he just looked perplexed. "Go." She said, but he couldn't hear him. She grabbed a blanket to cover up her topless body. If only she'd worn a cuter bra for Zig to see her topless. Of course she had to be wearing a ratty old bra that was two sizes too small.

Grace's mom arrived again and noticed Zig standing by the door. "Uh, you've got a friend." She remarked, and Grace put her head in her hands. "I know." She replied.

"Are you okay?" Grace's mom questioned, noticing that Grace's coughing had subsided.

"For now, I guess." Grace replied, wrapping the blanket tighter to her body so her mom didn't think Grace was doing some sort of strip show for Zig.

"Then put on a shirt and go with him." Her mom gestured to Zig, who had turned around and shielded his eyes, clearly not wanting to seem like he was receiving some sort of strip show. Good thing the two seemed to be simpatico there.

Grace nodded, and her mom placed a glass of water on the table beside Grace's bed. Grace turned away from the glass door, even though Zig was still turned around, and pulled the v-neck over her head, this time, actually getting the job done. No coughing fit.

She pulled the glass door open and closed it behind her. "Let's go." She said.


	5. In The Back Of His Mind (Ch5)

"Let's go to the diner." Zig started in before they even got out of sight of Grace's house. The two were hiking through an area full of trees that surrounded Grace's suburban neighborhood. She never quite understood why this woodsy area existed right next to her neighborhood, but she did like the occasional deer spotting or fox running through the grass that occurred most times that she walked through. It made her remember that humans weren't the only beings roaming this earth. Thank God, because humans were kind of the worst.

"Why?" Grace questioned, pulling her phone out and checking the text conversation with Zoe. Still no reply. It seemed like Grace had come on too strong. Or maybe Zoe just hadn't checked her phone. Maybe she was busy waiting tables and didn't like to check her phone while on the job. A million possibilities were racing through Grace's brain, making excuses for Zoe not texting back while also coming up with reasons why she saw the message and ignored it... She wasn't sure why she even cared so much, but there was something about Zoe that made Grace want to keep trying.

"Because, it's just us this time. No jerky bet with Tiny. Just you being my wingman and me getting your new bestie's number. Finally."

Grace was speechless. Come on. Really? He wasn't even sorry. Or at least, he wasn't sorry for what Grace was actually upset about. "No. I'm sick of hearing about Zoe. Just shut up about it. Let's just go to a movie or something. Anything but that stupid diner and watching you drool over a girl who, again, is way out of your league."

"You're really bringing that up again?" Zig seemed hurt. "You constantly talk shit on me and tell me how unworthy I am of everything." He started. "You're so mean for no reason. I don't even know why I bothered inviting you out. You were an asshole to me earlier at the diner and _I_ never got an apology."

Here he went again. He always managed to make himself into the victim. And usually, Grace fell for it. She saw his upturned eyebrows and his pouty bottom lip and fell for it. Every. Damn. Time. But not this time. She had no reason to apologize and he had every reason. He wasn't getting away with it today.

"Maybe that's because you don't deserve an apology." Grace shot back. "The reason I stormed off and ran into Zoe was because you straight up told me I wasn't getting any dates. Which hurt my feelings. Then I ran into Zoe, who was actually nice to me and showed me how a normal human being should treat me, and then I come back and you're still on about how you wanna bang her. It's tiring."

Silence. The two kept walking, instinctively toward the diner, though there was no way that Grace was entering that establish with Zig. Not unless he had a real apology up his sleeve. And even then, she just wasn't in the mood to see her crush drool over someone else. Not today.

"Look, I'm sorry." Zig broke the silence. "I really am..."

Grace felt a 'but' coming.

"But I don't get why you're taking this so personally. I mean, Tiny roots me on when I'm trying to get a girl's number. Why are you such a wet blanket about it?" He paused before holding his hands up as if he was protecting himself from an attack from Grace. "No offense, of course."

That's when it hit Grace. Every minute she'd spent pining over Zig, every hopeful glance, everything... It was a waste of time. He wasn't into her like that. He thought of her on the same level as Tiny. She always knew she was one of the guys and that he was never going to drool over her like Zoe or any other girl, but there was always a voice in the back of her head telling her that there was hope. He'd get sick of getting his hopes up over these bombshells, and he'd look over and realize there was someone there this whole time. But that wasn't the case. He wasn't going to look over and realize Grace was the one. She'd truly just wasted her time.

"I don't know." She replied, defeated. "Look, I'm not in the mood to hang out. I heard there was some event at The Dot, you should head there. I'll just head home."

Zig nodded, seeming to understand that something was wrong, but being a teenage boy, not bothering to ask what it was. "Sure."


	6. Spaghetti and Garlic (Ch6)

Grace was surprised that her misdirect had worked so easily. Zig was even more dim than he looked sometimes. And Grace would admit, Zig didn't look like an Einstein or anything. She knew that. He was more brawn than brains.

She wasn't going home, she was going to the diner. She knew it was insane, and probably a little stalker-ish to go to Zoe's place of employment in hopes of seeing her, but she was just _hoping_ Zoe would be around. And if not, she wouldn't mind picking up a cheeseburger for dinner. Grace pulled out her phone as she approached the diner and shot a text to her mom, offering to pick her up something while she was there.

She opened the door to the diner and came face to face immediately with the girl she was looking for. Not the waitress, but the hostess this time around. Zoe Rivas.

"Hey, you're back!" Zoe said. "And so soon!" So, she wasn't ignoring Grace. Then again, she _was_ an actress. If she wanted to seem friendly, she sure as hell knew how to play the part. And she wanted people coming back for more. The more customers coming back for more Zoe, the more money the restaurant makes, and the more tips in Zoe's pocket. Grace wished she knew how to stop thinking of the worst case scenario. She'd always been told she should be more positive, but she stopped thinking everything was rainbows and sunshine the minute she learned what cystic fibrosis was and learned that she'd probably never live past thirty.

"Hey... yeah." Grace spoke, forcing herself to have a tone that compared in any way to the perkiness of Zoe's. "I was-uh, in the neighborhood and I figured I'd grab a burger." Grace replied, unsure of how to respond to Zoe's chipper tone. Her arms crossed defensively, a reflex she wishes she could get out of her system. "I think you gave me a wrong number, by the way. I texted you and I didn't get any response or anything."

Zoe ushered Grace to a tiny booth in the corner and Zoe's hand found Grace's shoulder in a friendly way, helping Grace settle down onto the sear of the booth. "Oh, no. It's the right number!" She spoke, again in the chipper voice, but this time there was a tinge of reassurance there. Like she was worried that she'd hurt Grace's feelings somehow. Like she was concerned. Grace wasn't familiar with that, since Tiny and Zig sure as hell never had any competence when it came to compassion.

But why didn't she respond? Before Grace could ask, Zoe answered.

"I dropped my phone in a vat of iced tea by accident. It's soaking in a gigantic bowl of rice in the back. Sorry about that."

It felt like a weight off Grace's chest, like the feeling she'd get after a horrific lung infection finally cleared up. She knew it wasn't a comparison anyone ever wanted to hear, so she kept that to herself.

"Hey, I'm about to take my break actually. Would you maybe mind if I sat with you? I'd love to talk more. We were kind of under a time constraint last time." Zoe giggled a little at the last part.

"That'd be great." Grace replied, a little too excitedly.

Zoe dropped two menus that she'd been carrying under her arm onto the table. "I'll be right back. Figure out what you want, on the house. I get one free meal per shift, and I haven't used a free meal in forever, so I imagine I can probably get away with two this time around." She walked away, presumably to go clock out or something, and Grace couldn't stop herself from smiling. Her fingers played with the rips in the upholstery of the booth as she waited for Zoe to get back. Whenever she was nervous, whether it be waiting for a doctor to tell her bad news or waiting for the friendly waitress, her new possible friend, to come back and join her.

"Sorry 'bout that. I just had to clock out and work my special _Rivas_ charm to get you a free meal too. It worked." Zoe started, settling down in the seat across from Grace.

Grace hadn't even touched the menu. She'd been so lost in thought while Zoe was gone, she'd forgotten where she was and that she was supposed to actually be making a decision. "I actually forgot to look at the menu. What's good here?" She asked reluctantly, knowing that Zoe got that question fifteen thousand times a day from indecisive customers.

"Well, do you have any dietary constrictions?" Zoe asked, clearly in waitress mode. She paused and caught herself. "I'm sorry. That was a little waitress-y. Are you allergic to anything? That's a slightly less...weird way to ask."

"No allergies. Whatever has the most calories in it, honestly. The more artery clogging, the better. I have to fill up." Grace said. She didn't know why she said that. It was the truth - she needed to eat as much as she could because of her CF, but she wasn't usually up to share that with strangers. Her closest friends still had no idea. She hadn't told a soul since she got to Degrassi, and she hadn't really planned on telling anyone else... well, ever. But here she was, dropping hints to the girl she'd never spoken to outside of ordering food until earlier today. She knew there was going to be a question coming out of Zoe's mouth soon... She just knew it.

But Zoe didn't. She just looked over the menu, and pointed out a few things. A 'heart attack' burger platter, a jumbo plate of chili-cheese fries, and the spaghetti and meatballs were the choices Grace became stuck on.

"If you ask for extra meatballs on the spaghetti, and extra sauce... I think that'd probably be your best bet. And it comes with these breadsticks... Mmm." Zoe rolled her eyes back in pleasure. "The best thing on the menu."

Grace grinned. "Alright. I guess I'll go with the spaghetti and meatballs. What are you gonna get?"

"I'll just get some garlic fries. _Second_ best thing on the menu. You'd be surprised how amazing the Italian food is here, despite the fact that literally _nobody_ in this joint is actually Italian." Zoe said, gesturing a fellow waitress over to the table. Her name tag said Jack, and she was pretty for sure, but she had nothing on Zoe. The girls ordered both their drinks and their food in one go, and Zoe playfully waved Jack away so the two girls could be alone again. The diner was near-empty, only a handful of senior citizens taking advantage of the Early Bird special and a family with rowdy toddlers were occupying the space.

Zoe tapped her fingers on the table, seeming almost as nervous as Grace. "I guess ordering spaghetti and garlic isn't such a great choice for a first date, huh?" Zoe said.

"First date?" Grace replied, surprised that she was able to speak at all due to the shock that had overtaken her body.


	7. A Date? (Ch7)

"I'm sorry, did you say _date_?" Grace questioned, after a few seconds of awkward silence.

Zoe seemed confused. "I'm sorry, did I assume wrong?" Her cheeks turned pink. Grace had never seen someone blush like that.

"You thought I was... Oh." Grace wished she knew what to say. What to make this awkward moment less awkward. It wasn't like she was disgusted by Zoe. Not at all. She was a gorgeous girl. One of the prettiest she'd ever seen. She just... wasn't like that. At least, she didn't think she was. She'd never put much thought to it. Her entire life, especially her adolescent life, had been more focused on other things. School, not dying, computer hacking... Those sort of things.

Before Zig, she hadn't even really considered taking a romantic partner. And even with Zig, she wasn't really thinking they'd ever truly get together. Sure, she wished it, but she didn't count on it happening. But here she was, across from a really pretty girl who wanted to date her. And what in the hell was she going to do? What was she going to say?

Before Grace's eyes, Zoe turned into a little girl. She just looked so small and embarrassed. "I didn't know that was your intention." Grace said. "I just don't know how I feel. It's not that I don't think you're pretty or anything, you are. Very pretty. I just... didn't know you wanted that. I wasn't prepared. And I'm not..." Grace got cut off right before the word 'gay' by Jack arriving at the table with their dishes.

"Here you guys go." Jack said, eyeing Grace curiously. She seemed to have taken an interest in the two of them. Grace couldn't decide if the vibe was reading more curious or nosy. "Enjoy." Jack's eyes jumped to Zoe and a smile appeared on her face. Zoe gave an awkward smile back. Grace wondered if the two were friends or not. It seemed crazy to think anyone wouldn't like Zoe. Zoe just seemed magnetic.

Their food was in front of them, but suddenly Grace didn't feel like she had it in her to lift her fork. She was too distracted now.

"You're not...into girls. I get it. I assumed. I shouldn't have assumed. I'm new at this, so my hopes are a little high. I mean, I've only been with one girl, and before that, I was kinda boy-crazy." Zoe paused, lifting a garlic fry to her mouth. "Not because I ever felt right with a guy, but... guys asked me out. I liked the attention. And now I guess I'm just used to having my pick of everybody. The lesbian crop is a little dry this season, though. I didn't know being gay was such a probability game.." She popped a fry in her mouth and looked at Grace, then at her plate. "Sorry. I talk when I'm nervous. I can get Jack to pack up your dinner if you don't want to stay, or I can just go back to work and leave you alone. I know you probably feel weird..."

"I don't feel weird." She lied. "You just caught me off guard. It's not that I don't like you, I mean, _maybe_ I do. I have been thinking about you non-stop since earlier, and it's a little confusing..." She trailed off. "I'll stay. I don't know what this means, and I don't know if I'm, you know... but... let's just eat dinner." She picked up her fork and began to twirl some spaghetti, looking up at Zoe. She caught herself smiling. Actually smiling. Maybe this was a good thing. Maybe a date with Zoe Rivas was the right thing.


End file.
